Dirty Four Letter Word

I know there are going to be various words floating around in your mind right now, and some of you might already know what I'm going to say.
DIET
As soon as you hear the word, immediate associations include failure, temporary, bandaid fix, bland tasting or no taste, foul smelling, feeling hungry, not eating and being deprived. With so many negative linkages it's no wonder that most diets "fail".
I am NOT on a diet. The program is called the 12 Week Body Transformation, not the 12 Week Diet. A diet implies that it's temporary. The changes I'm making are not. I have committed to becoming the best that I can be. I have committed to looking after my health, my body, my mind and my spirit. A bandaid fix just will not do. This is my lifestyle change. I am making changes for the better that will affect and reward me for the rest of my life.
Yes, the byproducts are awesome. The major one is weight loss. When you improve your eating and increase your exercise only good things can happen.
Up until now, I always assumed maths was something we did at school to fill in time. I didn't really think that it would affect normal every day life as much as it has. The equation is simple. In fact so simple it's scary that most people don't seem to understand it.

FOOD IN MINUS EXERCISE DONE = POSITIVE FIGURE (INCREASED WEIGHT)

NEGATIVE FIGURE (DECREASED WEIGHT)

Calories In - Calories Out = Nil or Negative to maintain/lose weight

Whilst we're doing our sums, let's make it a little more real. A deficit of 3500 calories over a week equals roughly a 500gram loss - this figure will vary as your body isn't a straight up and down mathematical machine but it's a good guide post. So if the maths is simple, then why are not more people following it?
I'll tell you why. We all want something for nothing. I'd love to go to bed tonight at 106.4kg and wake up tomorrow weighing 75kg - how easy would that be! If I did, would I have learnt to change my eating? Change my lifestyle? Probably not. So once we decide to learn how our bodies work and embrace the changes we can make then the transformation will begin.
Start with baby steps. Look at recording what you eat, every day, everything that passes your lips. After a week, work out how much you've consumed - you'll be surprised. I know when I first did it, it was a major shock to the system. I ate subconsciously. I had things in my food diary that I'd chosen to forget that I'd eaten, this was my downfall. Now that I knew about it, I could change it. I'm still logging what I eat daily. I still have slip ups. On a whole I'm doing okay though, and the scales are proving it. I'm also feeling happier with myself. My self worth is increasing and that's an awesome investment.
So today my loss on the scales only came in at 300grams but I'm still excited. Some of you will be wondering why? It's only 300grams, not even half a kilo. Yep, that's right, it's not. It's not a gain either, and it's not staying steady, no matter how small I am going to celebrate every loss and make my new lifestyle changes into habits and make them my life.
Till next time xo